LONDON LéTTéR. LONDON, Nov. 6 I N this mad world of wars and ru- mors of wars, when it becomes increas- ingly obvious that f { . the poor bewildered ,, man - in - the - street isn't allowed even for a fraction of a second to know what's going on behind the scenes, or what, if anything, his government is up to, and when the only thing he does know is that meetings are being called in small towns all over England for the issuance of anti-air-raid instruction, it's a sort of momentary comfort to fall back on the stability-illusory though it may be -of traditions. The Minister of the Netherlands, Jonkheer R. de Marees van Swinderen, remarked at this year's Colchester Oyster Feast, to four hun- dred assembled oyster-eaters, that he greatly admired "the way you English know how to keep up your old tra- ditions, realizing how much strength comes out of them." True, and all the pleasanter, of course, when the tradi- tion takes the agreeable form of eating oysters. (Gourmets and gourmands will both be interested to learn that at this year's feast ten thousand were eaten, that one of the guests-name not men- tioned-ate eighty, and that the record of eight dozen, made years ago, still stands. ) Well, the Colchester Feast has been going on at Colchester, to cele- brate the opening of the season, for nine hundred years, which makes it pretty traditional, and it's safe to say that it's still one of the favorite things to be in- vited to in England. Dean Inge has now achieved the rare distinction of be- ing invited two years in succession-but that was perhaps only because last year he unaccountably and lamentably for- got to go. Borotra was there, too, and Canon H. R. L. ("Dick") Sheppard, who made the very curious statement that "the Houses of Parliament repre- sent everything that makes life pleasant and bearable for the average citizen." Maybe the oysters had gone to his head. However, the Colchester Feast to the contrary, and melancholy as the fact is, a lot of the most charming of the old English customs are dying out, or at any rate reaching that stage of self-consciousness which is the first sign of decadence. The once-familiar . 'm 93 .* .' : , - f:.i: . . 1 , .u"" --. -- .: .p..-" " -- 'Ó> ..' -.:.:. ,.. ' ' t . .:::.;.. oJ ", ',: "..'.,. ""/V-:' ....,.:.. '.::::,.",.",:u:..".,.,.::',:,"""'""",.:. . e$ntud<< W:-:':': " I: I ! . 'i ! 1 '9tnssUN 21; . } . . . . .. . "' ..", .. '" .". .... ". ,':.' "- . '\. . .u.,.... " ,"""7 CHAR'" OR ESCAPE WIIl-rER : . , o'I . c; ., < ", ';1;'," .. ,)v.Jt' "_ ". '. ,,,. """ ""'-' ..... .::.' . ..' 'aD ?fl ite tParh S I ' .' .-- · <'; ';d' w.i ,'...$:' ':t;,: , , mi:\. ., . '.. i>.' . ,; ,_ . L .oEJ" 1>.. CUNAAD ""MITE STAR SUHðkÑe I . REACH EVERY PLEASURE PO.T O. THE MAP (1) Bermuda (2) Nassau. (3) Havana. (4) Haiti. (5) Virgin Islands; St. Pierre and Fort-de-France, Martinique; Barbados; Brighton and Port of Spain, Trinidad. (6) La Guaira, Venezuela; Curacao; Carta- gena, Colombia; Colon, Panama Canal Zone. (7) Kingston, Jamaica. (Numbers are keyed to schedule below) FROM N. V. SHIP ITINERARY DAYS PRICE, MIN. DECEMBER 21 Georgie < (1, 4, 3, 2) 11 $132.50 DECEMBER 27 Maiestie. .... (2) 5 60.00 JANUARY 25 *Carinthia . ... (2) 6 70.00 FEBRUARY 1 *Carinthia..... (2) 6 70.00 FEBRUARY 7 Georgie . (5, 6, 7, 3) 18 210.00 FEBRUARY 28 Georgie. (5, 6, 7, 3) 18 210.00 MARCH 20 Georgie. . . (5, 6, 7, 3) 18 210.00 APRIL 10 Georgie. . . (1, 2) 8 100.00 *AND EVERY SATURDAY THEREAFTER TO MARCH 28 INCLUSIVE M AKE yours a glamorous getaway from winter's grey horizons. Let the dash and verve of a Cunard White Star sailing lift you smartly from your personal humdrum... start you gaily on your way to a brighter, fuller cruise-life. You have the best of the fleet to choose from: its popular modern motorliner, its largest ship, and a favorite world- cruiser. . . sailing to 15 enticing ports of the West Indies and South America. You can obey that impulse to Escape practically any time you feel it . . . and if it's a big Urge, not to be satisfìed with two or three weeks, you have our grandest cruise of all, in the proudest ship: Aquitania to the Mediterranean! AQUITANIA to the MEDITERRANEAN from New York Feb. 20 . . . visiting 15 radiant ports. . . full week in Holy land and Egypt. 40 days - including cruise to Villefranche second call and return transatlantic passage-$575 First Class; $315 Tourist. Book through your local agent or Cunard White Star Line. Offices at 25 Broadway and 638 Fifth Ave., New York, and in other principal cities. CUNARD STAR WHITE